Using Courseware Discussion Boards to Engage Graduate Students in Online Library Workshops

Abstract

Librarians at Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries used the discussion board features of Blackboard courseware to create an interactive experience for graduate students at a distance who could not attend the on-campus "Literature Review Workshops." These recently developed workshops have been extremely popular with graduate students across the disciplines and have generated a growing demand from distance education graduate students and faculty to offer similar information online. Reluctant to simply deliver content via an online tutorial, librarians sought to duplicate the workshop atmosphere by making the sessions available for a short time period online. asking participants to respond to discussion questions at specific points in the workshop, and offering audio-mediated online demonstrations of tools and resources. Student feedback and follow up requests for more workshops support the perception that this approach offered a rewarding learning experience that addressed their specific adult learning needs.

A Mixed-Methods Study of Library Communication with Online Students and Faculty Members

“…Rempel and McMillen at Oregon State University detailed another communication strategy, an online library workshop for students replicating the experience and environment of an in-person workshop. 15 This online literature review workshop was delivered asynchronously to increase accessibility for distance students and was made available for a limited time period to match a typical workshop format. Though their approach was successful, Rempel and McMillen pointed out that online workshops do not provide the same opportunity for students to ask direct questions, work synchronously on their projects, or troubleshoot an unsuccessful search with a librarian.…”

“…One solution for this could be the use of synchronous online sessions to work with students one-on-one through their search process. 16 Librarians should consider what aspects of traditional, in-person communication can be successfully reproduced or repurposed in online environments.…”